The present invention relates to a boom curtain that includes expandable, pleated panels, as well as a containment/exclusion boom containing such a boom curtain.
Containment/exclusion booms can be used to filter water or to restrict the flow of debris and contaminants from one side of the boom to the other. Such contaminants can include any debris or marine or aquatic life, as well as silt which is laden with bacteria. Unfortunately, the area available for the boom curtain placement is some bodies of water is not adequate to hold a curtain, the size of which would be required for the desired level of filtering. It would be desirable, therefore, to develop a boom system that is capable of overcoming this problem and affording filtration and/or exclusion capabilities in waters where existing boom systems cannot do so.
The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies in the art.
A first aspect of the present invention relates to a boom curtain that includes: an upper portion that is adapted and configured for connection to a support system and a main portion formed of a sheet of flexible material that allows the flow of water therethrough, the main portion including a plurality of pleats that effectively increase the actual surface area of the boom curtain relative to the linear area covered by the boom curtain.
A second aspect of the present invention relates to a containment/exclusion boom that includes: a support system which can be positioned in a body of water; and a boom curtain that includes an upper portion connected to the support system and a main body portion, the main body portion being formed of a flexible material that allows the flow of water therethrough and including a plurality of pleats formed therein, the plurality of pleats effectively increasing the actual surface area of the boom curtain relative to the linear area covered by the boom curtain.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method of filtering water in a body of water, the method including: introducing a containment/exclusion boom of the present invention into a body of water at a location between an inlet into the body of water and a water intake located within the body of water; and removing water from the body of water via the water intake, whereby water entering via the inlet passes through the curtain of the containment/exclusion boom before said removing.
The boom curtain of the present invention allows the use of containment/exclusion booms in environments where water filtration via boom systems would not otherwise be available because the linear area over which filtration can occur would otherwise be insufficient. By expanding the surface area over which filtration occurs through the use of a boom curtain of the present invention, it becomes possible to install and utilize boom systems for filtration of water entering an intake system. This is of significant importance in various industries that employ water-cooling systems, who will be able to utilize the boom system of the present invention to comply with governmental regulations (regarding exclusion of aquatic biota) rather than installing expensive dry cooling towers. The boom curtains constructed with geosynthetic fabric materials allow permanent or semi-permanent installation of boom systems, which can also minimize the necessity of shutting down water intake systems for routine cleaning and maintenance.